Brian McTaggart, Astros beat reporter for MLB.com, joins The Matt Thomas Show as the Astros complete back-to-back series sweeps following Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. "They really had to do everything right to win that game," McTaggart said.
During this road trip, in which the Astros went 8-1, Kyle Tucker was seen working out on the field, a positive sign for the right fielder, who has been on the injured list since fouling a ball off his shin on June 3. "Once Tucker comes back, whenever that is, your one through five is really deep."
Productive at-bats from the outfield have been lacking from the Astros offense, especially with Chas McCormick, whose batting average has dipped to .198 after going 0-4 with four strikeouts on Wednesday. If McCormick could get hot, "it would really deepen this lineup and make [Joe Espada] sleep better at night."
McTaggart also discusses Justin Verlander making his second minor league rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land, Ryan Pressly slumping in his eighth-inning role and Yusei Kikuchi performing well in each of his starts since being traded to the Astros.